The Historical Bible (6 vols.)

by Charles Foster Kent

Publisher:

Charles Scribner’s Sons

, 1908–1916

Overview

To use the Bible intelligently and profitably, it’s important to realize that it’s a historical library—one containing many different books, one written by a variety of authors who lived in diverse eras and wrote with diverse aims and points of view. Over twelve centuries lie between Moses and Paul, and each century contributed to the gradually growing records of God’s revelation of his character and will in the experiences, hearts, and minds of men.

The great service of modern biblical scholarship has been to distinguish and restore the older records to their original form—and to make it possible again to study the heroic characters and stirring events in Israel’s history as recorded by the earliest historians. The Historical Bible includes practically all the peerless narratives that have commanded the attention, and molded the faith and morals, of humanity.

The aim of The Historical Bible is to make this old, vital record available for popular reading and study. It aims to arrange—and to combine with the earliest historical record—the most important songs, prophetic addresses, laws, psalms, proverbs, and epistles, so that the biblical writers might present in their own language the literature, history, and religious beliefs of each succeeding age. This arrangement makes it possible to study the character, work, and message of the great prophets, sages, or apostles—in full light of the conditions in which they lived and labored.

Each section of the biblical text includes brief historical, geographical, and archeological notes: the background necessary for a complete understanding of the biblical records. The idea is to draw attention to the biblical text itself and to offer the reader the essential facts for its full understanding and appreciation. For each volume, a selected group of questions, with references for further study in connection with each section, are given in an appendix.

 

Key Features

• A chronological synthesis of the major events of the Bible
• Thorough introductions and illuminating notes for each section
• Study questions and reflections for each volume

Praise for the Print Edition

It is a work of careful scholarship, and an excellent example of constructive criticism.

—The Christian Intelligencer

The author has undertaken to put in popular, practical form the really vital parts of the Bible arranged in chronological order, interpreting its essential teachings into the thought and language of the present. This is a worthy endeavor.

—Baltimore Methodist

This book incorporates the latest results of modern scholarship, and is well fitted for use in classes, but no less for the general reader who desires to gain from the modern point of view a systematic knowledge of the history, literature, and teachings of the Bible.

—Christian Work and Evangelist

Those who desire to study the constructive conclusions of the critical biblical scholarship will find in these volumes what they are looking for.

—Lutheran Observer

Product Details

• Title: The Historical Bible
• Author: Charles Foster Kent
• Publisher: Charles Scribner’s Sons
• Volumes: 6
• Pages: 1,785

About Charles Foster Kent

Charles Foster Kent (1867–1925) was born in Palmyra, New York, and educated at Yale, Yale Divinity School, and the University of Berlin. After working as an instructor at the University of Chicago and a professor of biblical literature and history at Brown University, he became Woolsey Professor of Biblical Literature at Yale University in 1901. He was a prolific author and editor, and his works include The Wise Men of Ancient Israel and Their Proverbs, Origin and Permanent Value of the Old Testament, Israel’s Laws and Legal Precedents, and Israel’s Historical and Biographical Narratives.